An Additional 54 Former USC Students Filed Suit Alleging Sexual Abuse by USC OB/GYN Dr. George Tyndall, Bringing the Total Number of Individual Plaintiffs to 279
LOS ANGELES and BALTIMORE, July 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Janet, Janet and Suggs, LLC (JJS) managing partner Howard A. Janet and Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos, LLP (ASWT) managing partner Mike Arias announced today the filing of a lawsuit on behalf of 54 former USC students alleging sexual abuse by USC OB/GYN Dr. George Tyndall. This brings the number of former USC students who are seeking justice for the abuse they allegedly endured to 279. Previously, the Janet and Arias Firms filed two class actions against USC and related defendants.
Due to the sensitive nature of the conduct involved in the complaint, the plaintiffs are identified only as Jane Does 3-56. The plaintiffs are former undergraduate and graduate students who attended USC from the 1980's through 2017. The timeframe of the allegations contained in the complaint ranges from the late 1980's through 2016 – nearly Tyndall's entire tenure at the USC Student Health Center. Dr. Tyndall was placed on leave by USC in 2016 and permitted to retire, with a financial settlement, in 2017.
According to media reports and the complaint, the victims allege that Dr. Tyndall used his position as a trusted and credentialed medical professional to conduct improper pelvic exams, including unnecessary probing and digital penetration, as well as to make lewd and racial comments during exams and to take nude photos that he claimed at the time were for medical research.
The lawsuit claims that in credentialing and employing Dr. Tyndall, USC represented to students and the community that he was "safe, trustworthy and of high moral and ethical repute," – despite the fact that USC received repeated complaints about his conduct from students and staff members. The lawsuit further alleges that USC failed to take necessary and appropriate steps to investigate those complaints and protect students from abuse, which allowed Dr. Tyndall to continue to sexually abuse students.
"It is unconscionable that a world-class institution like USC would ignore repeated red flags and allow Dr. Tyndall to remain in a position where he could continue his abuse of students," said Mike Arias. "The simple truth is this: USC could have – and should have – prevented hundreds, if not thousands, of students from being abused by Dr. Tyndall if they had simply investigated and acted on the complaints filed by students and professional staff. Given the sheer number of complaints regarding his conduct lodged to the University during Dr. Tyndall's tenure, USC should have reported him to the appropriate authorities years, if not decades, earlier."
The allegations against USC and Dr. Tyndall are the latest instances of institutionalized abuse by OB/GYNs. Howard A. Janet, one of the attorneys representing Jane Does 3-56, previously was one of the lawyers who spearheaded the $190,000,000 settlement of the class action against The Johns Hopkins Hospital on behalf of approximately 8,000 women who alleged they were sexually abused and illicitly photographed by OB/GYN Dr. Nikita Levy. Mr. Janet is currently representing approximately 100 women who were allegedly abused by another OB/GYN, who in reality was not a legitimate physician and had fraudulently obtained a medical license. "As far as I am concerned, every time he put his hands on these women, he did so under false pretenses and it constituted a sexual assault," commented Janet.
"In my view, Dr. Tyndall, just like Dr. Levy, maliciously, methodically and repeatedly violated the sacred trust between a woman and her doctor for his own depraved sexual gratification. And in so doing, he caused unmeasurable pain and irreparable harm to hundreds – if not thousands – of women," said Janet.
"Since filing the first class action lawsuits in CA State Court against USC in this matter, we've been contacted by numerous women who shared their experience with Dr. Tyndall," continued Janet. "These cases of institutionalized sexual abuse and assault are reaching epidemic proportions – but as history has shown us, the only way to enact change is victims to speak up and to hold those responsible accountable for their actions. That is exactly what these 54 courageous women have done today."
For additional information or to join this litigation, please visit the case information page at www.jjsjustice.com/usc. Those interested may also contact Howard A. Janet and JJS toll-free at 1-877-692-3862 or Mike Arias and ASWT at 1-855-481-1020. All inquiries are strictly confidential.
ABOUT ARIAS SANGUINETTI WANG & TORRIJOS, LLP (www.aswtlawyers.com)
Mr. Arias currently serves as President of the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles and is President-Elect of the Consumer Attorneys of California. His firm has handled hundreds of class action cases across the country, represented millions of class participants and recovered hundreds of millions in damages. In fact, ASWT is one of the few law firms that has actually tried numerous class action cases. Taking such cases to trial is not a common occurrence with most class action attorneys. The firm does not take on a class action unless it is prepared to take it to trial. Arias, Sanguinetti, Wang & Torrijos, LLP has the resources necessary to confront the most complex legal challenges of class action litigation. Knowing that the firm will take such cases to trial is often the most effective way to obtain fair compensation and to ensure that the wrongful conduct of the defendant does not continue.
ABOUT JANET, JANET & SUGGS, LCC (www.jjsjustice.com)
JJS represents plaintiffs in complex, high stakes litigation in the areas of medical malpractice, sexual abuse, fraudulent business practices, pharmaceutical and medical device product liability, qui tam litigation, Federal Tort Claims Act and environmental litigation. The firm has successfully litigated against some the nation's largest and most prestigious organizations, including the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Penn State University, DuPont, Dow Corning, Baxter Healthcare, Bayer, Wyeth and the Mayo Clinic, among others.
The firm's practice is national in scope. Whether working solely or hand-in-hand with other law firms, JJS has won verdicts and negotiated settlements exceeding $1 billion. Unlike many firms, the attorneys at Janet, Janet & Suggs, LLC actually try cases – and have notched record-setting verdicts across the country. This provides JJS the leverage necessary to negotiate record-setting settlements. JJS's extraordinary in-house medical experts, including a board-certified OB/GYN and RN, give the firm an edge in high-stakes cases involving medical malpractice and misconduct by OB/GYNs, as well as enable them to uncover errors other firms may have missed.
SOURCE Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos, LLP
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